Askren (10-0, 7-0 BFC) utilized takedowns, his uncanny scrambling
ability and a suffocating top game, as he retained his Bellator
Fighting Championships welterweight crown with a one-sided
unanimous decision over the Brazilian in the
Bellator 64 main event on Friday at Caesars in Windsor,
Ontario, Canada.

Booed lustily by fans who desired more action on the feet, Askren
swept the scorecards by identical 50-45 counts.

“If you don’t like the groundwork, there’s a sport they call boxing
... it’s not as fun, though,” he said. “I suggest you keep on
coming here and watching my ass whoopins.”

Outside of a few right hands, sporadic punches from the bottom,
occasional submission attempts and a slick first-round sweep, Lima
(21-5, 3-1 BFC) did little of note from an offensive standpoint. At
the end of two rounds, he looked lost and discouraged, his
considerable repertoire utterly neutralized by an Olympic-caliber
wrestler.

Askren struck for takedowns in all five rounds, tagged the American
Top Team Atlanta representative with punches, hammerfists and
elbows from inside his guard and scrambled away from danger
whenever it surfaced. The 27-year-old Roufusport product tried to
finish Lima with a third-round brabo choke but released the hold
when it became clear it would not be successful, settling back into
his routine and cruising to another decision.

Sandro Gets Split Verdict

Keith
Mills

Sandro narrowly made the finals.

Former Sengoku
champion Marlon
Sandro scored with combinations, as he mixed in low kicks,
overhand rights and left hooks en route to a split decision over
countrymen Alexandre
Bezerra in the Bellator Season 6 featherweight tournament
semifinals. All three judges ruled it 29-28, David Therien and
Gregory Jackson for Sandro, Jason Rodgers for Bezerra.

Sandro banked two rounds on two scorecards, as he landed his
punches at a higher rate and kept Bezerra (13-2, 5-1 BFC) off
balance with kicks to the outside and inside of his lead leg.

In the third round, “Popo” found another gear and zeroed in on his
opponent’s head. He struck for a takedown, briefly took Sandro’s
back and floored him with a right hand with roughly three minutes
remaining in the fight. The finish he needed, however, never
materialized, and Sandro walked away the victor.

Marx Upsets World-Ranked Ueda

K.
Mills

Marx outworked Ueda.

Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts export Travis Marx
recorded the most significant victory of his 22-fight career, as he
upset the world-ranked Masakatsu
Ueda by unanimous decision in the Bellator Season 6
bantamweight tournament quarterfinals. All three cageside judges
scored it for Marx (19-3, 1-0 BFC) by matching 29-28 counts.

Marx stuck the former Shooto champion with straight lefts and
worked his way into advantageous positions on the ground. Ueda
(15-2-2, 0-1 BFC) was limited to second- and third-round takedowns,
crisp body kicks and the occasional submission attempt. However, he
could not overcome a visible size and strength advantage against
the three-time Utah state high school wrestling champion, though he
did raise a nasty swelling beneathMarx’s left eye.

“The opportunity to fight a guy like Masakatsu was enormous for
me,” Marx said. “I never perceived myself as the underdog -- from
day one.”

Nakamura Decisions Lima in Quarters

K.
Mills

Nakamura slipped by Lima.

Takedowns, top control, stellar submission defense and occasional
ground-and-pound carried Shooto veteran Hiroshi
Nakamura to a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten
Rodrigo
Lima in the Bellator Season 6 bantamweight tournament
quarterfinals. All three judges scored it the same: 29-27 for
Nakamura (15-4-4, 1-0 BFC).

Nakamura scored with takedowns in all three rounds, as he
repeatedly coaxed the aggressive Brazilian into his clinch. Lima
(10-1, 0-1 BFC) was plenty active from his back, trying for
everything from omaplatas, triangle chokes and armbars to heel
hooks, foot locks and kneebars. None were successful, however, and
his activity did not do enough to sway the judges to his side.

Having benefitted from a one-point deduction for low blows in the
second round, Nakamura did his best work in the third despite
suffering a cut near his left eye. The Japanese standout racked up
points from top position and answered many of Lima’s submission
attempts with some of his own.

Richman wobbled the Canadian twice before an uppercut sent him
backpedaling into the cage. From there, Richman (12-1, 1-0 BFC)
unloaded with a series of uppercuts that brought the bout to an
abrupt and violent conclusion. The 26-year-old Minnesotan has
rattled off three straight wins.

Laprise (5-0, 1-0 BFC) succumbed to a pair of takedowns but lured
the Canadian into his guard. He went first to the triangle,
transitioned to an attempted triangle-armbar and returned to the
original hold for the finish. Laprise has closed out all five of
his opponents inside one round.

Tristar’s Taleb Extends Streak

K.
Mills

Taleb bested Secor.

Tristar
Gym representative Nordine
Taleb posted his sixth consecutive victory, as he captured a
unanimous decision from Matt Secor in
a preliminary welterweight matchup. All three cageside judges
scored it for Taleb (7-1, 1-0 BFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 30-24.

Secor (1-1, 0-1 BFC) was outclassed from the start, as Taleb
grounded him repeatedly and attacked effectively while standing,
from a distance and in tight quarters. The Ring of
Combat veteran dominated so thoroughly that one judge, Mark
Porliev, awarded him three 10-8 rounds.

Fischer Moves to 3-0

K.
Mills

Fischer dominated Solomon.

Mash Fight Team representative Jason
Fischer remained undefeated in his promotional debut, as he
rendered Taylor
Solomon unconscious with a third-round rear-naked choke in an
undercard tilt at 155 pounds. Solomon (3-4, 1-1 BFC) went to sleep
with one second left in the fight.

Fischer (3-0, 1-0 BFC) controlled all three rounds, as he scored
with takedowns and delivered the more consequential strikes. In
round three, he finally broke through the exhausted Solomon’s
guard, transitioned to his back and cinched the choke. The Canadian
refused to tap, electing to go the route of unconsciousness.

Lastly, in a 159-pound catchweight bout, Kyle
Prepolec submitted Lance Snow
with a first-round armbar at the 2:54 mark and Elias
Theodorou scored a verbal submission win against Rich
Lictawa after Lictawa suffered an eye injury at 0:33 of the
third frame. Scheduled to be a middleweight bout, Lictawa missed
weight by six pounds on Thursday.

Related News

It wasn’t Douglas Lima’s fault that Ben Askren relinquished his Bellator welterweight belt in search of greener pastures. But ever since he seized the title, he told MMAjunkie, some fans seem to enjoread news >>

After taking a year off due to injuries, Douglas Lima wants to take back-to-back fights. Lima returns to the Bellator cage on July 17 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, putting his welterweight read news >>

It's been more than a year since Douglas Lima was in the Bellator cage, but the reigning welterweight champion will return on Friday night to defend his title against the highly touted Andrey Koreshkread news >>

Russian fighter Andrey Koreshkov has only one blemish on his record -- a loss to former Bellator fighter Ben Askren in a 170-pound title match. He'll get a second chance at gold on tomorrow night agaread news >>

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator's welterweight title has been on ice for a long time. And now it's Andrey Koreshkov who is holding it. The 24-year old Russian challenger was able to control Douglas Limaread news >>